In many industries, including, for example, the food and beverage processing industry, containers and other articles are transported from one location to another location by conveyors such as belt conveyors. In many such conveyor systems, a lubricating composition may be used on the conveyor. One of the reasons that a lubricating composition may be used is to facilitate movement and reduce the damage to the containers resulting from mechanical impact between the containers and the rubbing action among the containers and between the containers and the belt. For example, occasionally in such systems, the containers are stopped on the conveyor due to a back up on the conveyor. While the containers are stopped, the belt is often still moved continuously. To facilitate the smooth transportation of the containers, a lubricating composition can be applied onto the surface of the conveyor belt and/or the containers.
There can be numerous challenges in providing a lubricant composition for use on conveyors. One example of a potential challenge deals with the desire for a lubricant with decreased pH sensitivity. Fatty acid based lubricants typically display decreased lubricity at low pH. This phenomenon is especially a problem in the beverage processing industry. For example, many beverages, including colas, lemonades and iced teas, have a low pH as a result of being acidic. Those commercial beverages having a pH slightly above 3 include Coca-Cola®, Pepsi Cola®, Orange Slice®, Mountain Dew®, Sprite®, and Mellow Yellow®. Some are even more acidic with a pH below 3 such as Minute Maid Lemonade®, Minute Maid Orange Soda®, Fruit Work Pink Lemonade® and Brisk Lemon Iced Tea®. When acidic beverages are moved along a conveyor, they can spill and come into contact with the lubricant on the conveyor and lower the pH of the lubricant. This decrease in pH may decrease the lubricity of the lubricant. Thus it is desirable that a lubricant have decreased pH sensitivity especially in the presence of acidic beverages.
Additionally, there is a desire for conveyor lubricants in the food and beverage industry to be composed of food additives. Many compositions that come into contact with food or beverages are required to be composed entirely of food additives. It is desirable that conveyor lubricants that can potentially come into contact with food and beverages for human consumption be composed of food additives.
There is an ongoing need to provide food additive lubricant compositions and methods for lubricating conveyor systems which have decreased pH sensitivity, especially in the acidic region.